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Rio Tinto pulls out of Pebble Mine

Rio Tinto, a British and Australian mining company, became the latest entity to withdraw from the Pebble Mine project.

The company announced that their shares in the project would be divided equally between the Alaska Community Foundation to fund educational and vocational training and the Bristol Bay Native Corporation Education Foundation, which supports educational and cultural programs in the region. Rio Tinto owns 19.1 percent of the stake in Northern Dynasty Minerals, Ltd., the company that owns the rights to Pebble Mine.

In a statement, Rio Tinto Chief Executive Jean-Sebastian Jacques said, “Rio Tinto has long and historic ties to Alaska and we continue to see Alaska as an attractive location for potential future investment. By giving our shares to two respected Alaskan charities, we are ensuring that Alaskans will have a say in Pebble’s future development and that any economic benefit supports Alaska’s ability to attract investment that creates jobs.”

The decision comes after the pullout of London-based Anglo American back in September and the recent announcement from the Environmental Protection Agency that they would temporarily block permitting of the mine under the Clean Water Act.